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EXAMINING EXPERIENCES AMONG SOCIAL WORKERS WORKING WITH PARENTS WHO SUFFER FROM SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER
Get PDFBackground: Substance use disorders create physical and mental harm not only for themselves but also for their loved ones and those they interact with daily. Objective: This qualitative study aims to explore what are the factors that influence child welfare workers\u27 decision to involve the state when working with substance-affected families. Methods: We used a phenomenology approach to gather qualitative data from child welfare workers and non-probability sampling techniques to recruit participants. Prospective participants were recruited by circulating a flier via email to our professional network, inviting individuals who meet the study\u27s eligibility criteria to participate. Participants were asked a series of open-ended questions about the factors they consider when deciding whether or not to involve the state when working with families impacted by substance use. The data were coded, starting with first-level coding and ending with second-level coding. Results: We conducted interviews with nine participants. Responses from participants suggest that their decision to remove a child from a family impacted by parental substance use involves factors associated with children’s developmental age, availability of social support, conformity with a safety plan, prior history with CPS, unsafe home environment, lack of basic necessities, and domestic violence.
Conclusion: For child welfare workers, continuing education regarding the decision-making process around parental substance use can be transformative. They can significantly improve their comprehension of the effects that substance use has on families by keeping up with the most recent findings and best practices. With this information, they may evaluate cases more skillfully and decide in ways that genuinely put the welfare of the children at issue first
PHOTON IRRADATION AND CISPLATIN ENRICH CANCER STEM CELLS IN OVARIAN CANCER
Get PDFHigh Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (HGSOC) has a 5-year survival rate of less than 50%. Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest gynecological diseases and the 7th most common female cancer worldwide. Ovarian cancer patients generally have a poor prognosis despite the relatively successful treatments. When conventional cancer treatments, such as cisplatin chemotherapy and photon irradiation, are administered, residual cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) can survive, leading to CSC enrichment. CSCs are a small population of cancer cells that exhibit stem-like characteristics: quiescence (slowing of the cell cycle), differentiation, proliferation, and self-renewal to regenerate new CSCs. We hypothesized that providing cancer treatments such as irradiation and chemotherapies enriches the CSC population. We aimed to determine the induction of CSC activity after conventional treatment in 2 ovarian cell lines: OVASHO and PDX4 (patient derived xenograft) at a 72-hour time point after treatment. Our project used a GFP reporter system, SORE-6, which fluoresces in the presence of SOX2 and OCT4, core pluripotency factors to determine levels of stemness. Here, we observed a dose-dependent increase in stemness in PDX4 after cisplatin and photon irradiation treatment. In response to photon irradiation, OVASHO exhibited a dose-dependent response and an overall increase in GFP-expression in response to cisplatin. We also observed notable changes in mRNA gene expression of OCT4 and SOX2 in response to cisplatin treatment. These results indicate that cancer cell stemness is enriched after treatment in association to CSC persistence and/or cancer stem cell reprograming
PROJECT TRACKING WITH MOBILE DEVICES
Get PDFThis innovative project tracking with mobile devices provides comprehensive access to project information, modernized communication, and effective work management from any device. Through a simple interface, it enables real-time collaboration, work delegation, and progress monitoring, making project management simpler everywhere. A standout feature of this application is its provision of a dedicated API (Web Programming Interface) for mobile devices, enabling seamless integration and synchronization between the web application and mobile platform apps. This guarantees a consistent and integrated user experience across all devices, allowing for quick task updates, and information sharing. The web application emphasizes security, with secure encryption and effective authentication processes in place to protect sensitive data and user privacy
BIG CITY BLUES: DOES URBANIZATION AFFECT STRESS AND RESPONSE TO COMPETITORS IN WESTERN FENCE LIZARDS (SCELOPORUS OCCIDENTALIS)?
No full textCompetition is a vital interaction that nearly all animals experience. Animals compete for resources within the environment, but these interactions may change as the environment changes. Urbanization is currently one of the most drastic environmental changes affecting resources animals may compete for. Urbanization also may change the composition of competitors, as urban areas have lower biodiversity, but invasive species are commonly introduced into urban areas. Here, we aimed to find if and how urbanization affects competition in animals by quantifying the physiological and behavioral responses of Western Fence Lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) to competitors. As part of this research, we also aimed to understand whether urbanization affects animal responses to non-native heterospecific competitors, which are common urban residents. We studied Western Fence Lizards from two replicate urban and natural sites located in two different areas of Southern California: San Bernardino and Claremont. We verified that the population densities of lizards at urban sites were higher than those at natural sites, implying that the frequency and/or intensity of competitive interactions may differ between urban and non-urban populations. To quantify behavioral and physiological responses to competitors, we ran trials pairing Western Fence Lizards with either another Western Fence Lizard (conspecific), a non-native Italian Wall Lizard (heterospecific), or no other lizard (control). After each trial, we collected a blood sample from the focal lizard, and then ran assays quantifying their physiological stress responses, measured as plasma corticosterone concentrations. We also filmed the trials to analyze behaviors. Lastly, we considered how urbanization may affect traits related to competitive ability, such as body size, condition, and ectoparasite presence. Overall, urbanization did not impact how fence lizards respond to competitors. Instead, we found that lizards, regardless of where they came from, were the most stressed and performed the most competitive displays when paired with a conspecific competitor. Interestingly, we found that lizards basked less during heterospecific trials, which suggests the fence lizards have a displacement response towards the non-native Italian Wall Lizards and that exploitation competition would occur between these species. Lastly, urban lizards exhibited more information seeking behaviors (head scans and tongue flicks) and had a lower probability of ectoparasite infections than their natural counterparts. Overall, our study offers insight on how animals may respond to different types of competition in urban and non-urban settings. Our study also allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the displacement reactions native species have towards non-native species, demonstrating how invasive species can cause exploitation competition to displace natives from vital resources. Lastly, this study provides a direction of research that is needed to fully understand what magnitudes of urbanization may affect species interactions, and what species may be more susceptible to the effects of urbanization
Kenny Pruitt and Louise Butler
No full textPortrait of Kenny Pruitt and Louise Butler standing next to a building (black-and-white photograph).https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/bridges-photographs/1324/thumbnail.jp
Cesar Hangan and three women
No full textGroup portrait of Cesar Hangan and three women in the Stuart Street neighborhood in the 1950\u27s (black-and-white photograph).https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/bridges-photographs/1322/thumbnail.jp
